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This is a guest post by The Shark Investor, who is out to help you become a remarkable investor.

The energy markets are like a slot machine. The bars go up and down, few lucky players collect the jackpot but at the end you always lose. Sure, the current oil prices may be a bit speculative, but they always rise long term and thrust deeper into our pockets. The energy expenses are already one of the main leaks in a household’s budget and that’s not going to improve in the future. It’s likely that this expense will keep increasing - directly and indirectly - in the prices of grocery and services.

What can you do about this? As a first step you can conserve as much energy as possible. Using less energy will cure not only your budget but also the planet.

However there is a lot more to do than just saving. Instead of looking at the energy prices as a problem, look for the opportunity they give you. By investing in your own energy sources you have a chance to achieve much better profits than by investing in stocks, mutual funds or real estate. Installing your own energy sources is not just a smart investment, but also gives you independence of the global economy factors - like of course the oil prices.

So what can you do and how much can you earn or save? Here are the most popular options:

Wind Turbines are one of the best options for single family homes. You can get 1 KW turbine for around $1,000 and use all the energy it produces during its entire life. Typically these energy sources pay off for 5-6 years and their life is 20 or more years. This means you can have completely free electricity for 15 years. This equals at least 7.5% compounded annual return on investment even if the electricity prices don’t change for 20 years, which you know will change for sure.

An additional advice: when looking for wind turbines, consider buying higher capacity ones. The energy that a 1 KW turbine generates is 4 times more than one 250 watt turbine, but the 1KW item is only around 3 times more expensive.

The residential Solar Panels are still less efficient, but if you live in a sunny place, they may work better than the wind turbines. The prices for 200 watts panel vary around $300 - $500. Such investment pays off for itself in 10 - 25 years depending on the number of sunny days in your area.

The best effect can be achieved if you combine turbines with solar panels. This way your system will be equally efficient in the summer when there is more sunlight and in the winter when usually there are stronger wings. An investment in such hybrid system pays off in 7-8 years given the current level of the energy prices.

The power of the Sun is better used for heating. Buying solar heating collectors can ensure you with hot water and even heating for the entire house. The prices of the solar collectors start from $400 - $500, the pay-off period can be just 3-4 years and their life is more than 20 years. This equals to 8% - 9% compounded yearly ROI even if the electricity and gas prices don’t change.

There are even more options you can consider. water turbines or biomass heating both can supply your household with very cheap energy for very long period of time.
Installing your own energy sources makes you greener, healthier and richer long term. Given all the horrible forecasts about the oil, gas and electricity prices it works both as a great investment and long term household insurance.